Rise of the Guardian
by Super-sonic Iblish
Summary: The ancient echidna tribe had though to have been wiped out years ago, and hedgehogs were the only tribe left for miles. But then we found out something about our half-brother. He's the guardian, the last of the pure-blood echidnas and the savior of both us and the half-echidnas. And although he needs to master the powers he possesses, my brother and I believe he can save us all.
1. Chapter 1

**New story post, hope you like it! ^^**

**So here's the thing with this story, the chapters are going to be really long each time, because each chapter is going to be like an episode of a TV show, and each chapter is going to be its own oneshot. So, like an anime show, each chapter corresponds to the next one instead of just being random each time, but a new thing happens in each chapter that all builds up to the final "episode" at the end chapter. Just so you don't get confused, because each of these are technically like oneshots (y'know, unless if at the end it says "to be continued" or something like that, like some shows do.)**

**Anyways, now that I'm done explaining that, just one last quick note; the story might not straight-up tell you when this takes place. Let's just say it happens around Ancient China time, because honestly, I got the idea from the result of watching a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I love the Ancient China time period, so this is when it takes place.**

**Sorry, last side note, I promise! In case if some of the names are confusing to anyone on how to pronounce them, all of them sound the way they're spelled, ok?**

**Sonic and co belong to Sega, all fan characters belong to me.**

* * *

Rise of the Guardian

_A giant green gem glistened and glowed, reflecting the orange light of fires as they licked at the dry forest. The fire grew and engulfed everything, as it spread closer to the stone. The heat from the fire caused the stone to crack. More cracks appeared on the sacred gem's surface, as the flames grew closer to the temple with which the gem remained. As the destructive flames entered the temple doors and began to melt and burn the precious artifacts in the temple, the jewel began to pulsate and glow a brighter green. And then, there was the explosion that sent the sound of breaking glass in every direction. The jewel shattered into several large shards in a burst of light and green smoke. A wind that seemed to whisper was heard, as the green smoke billowed above the glowing shards and formed into the shape of a crescent moon. The whispering wind grew louder and louder, and the shards began to glow brighter, and then they just disappeared without a trace. The temple was now lit with orange and yellow, as the fire began to eat away at the sacred temple._

A mother's cry echoed through the forest as she ran with her 2-month-old son in her arms, away from the burning camp and he captors. Thousands of natives fled in every which direction away from their camp, which was smoldering under a cloud of ash and smoke. Some of them were caught ablaze, and were now screaming and flailing in agony as their clothes and skin burned.

Gunshots erupted from nearby, amidst the screams of fear. Hedgehog men dressed in steel plates of armor and silky clothing rode their horses alongside the fleeing natives, shooting them down as they passed. Some of the soldiers were rounding up women and children to be sold back in towns they passed, while other soldiers set fire to more of the forest surrounding the tribal grounds.

The mother, an echidna dressed from head-to-toe in a dark brown cape and hood, strayed from the rest of the crowd and disappeared into the bushes. She'd thought she was unnoticed, but a single soldier saw the brown of her cape as she pushed through the bushes.

"Sir, one has escaped into the forest!" the soldier said to the general. "What shall we do?" The general removed his helmet, revealing eyes like dark steel, and he furrowed his brow angrily.

"Capture it, kill it, I don't care what you do with it, just make sure it doesn't reach town!" the general replied with a gruff voice. "These savages were supposed to be gone a long time ago, the citizens must not know they still thrive, or they could turn against us." The soldier saluted his agreement and rounded up a group of 5 soldiers to go after the echidna girl.

The young girl kept running and running, the infant in her arms continuing to wail in fear. She stopped for a moment behind a tree to rest, and she shushed her baby and began to rock him. Then she heard the sounds of hooves on the ground, and she looked out from behind the tree and saw several hedgehog soldiers approaching on horses, shouting, "There she is, get her!" The echidna gasped, clutching her baby tightly to her chest, and began to run again, right towards the edge of a little town.

"Don't let her reach the town!" one soldier shouted to the others. "She could blow our whole operation!"

The echidna girl ran straight into town, running past and between surprised civilians who were walking down the street. She ran down the center of the street, until she heard a horse scream, and she looked up to see a horse, attached to a carriage, reared up on its hind legs right above her. The horse neighed and snorted angrily, as it flailed its front limbs at her, and the man driving the carriage shouted to her, "Get out of the road!" The echidna screamed in fear and ducked out of the way of the carriage, continuing to run. But that's when her foot caught in a pothole in the road, and she fell. The frail echidna cried out in pain as her face struck the dirt floor, and once her stomach stopped burning from the breath that'd been knocked from her, she looked up from the floor to find that her baby had fallen to the floor in front of her, only inches from her open hands. She let out a raspy gasp and crawled towards the bundled baby, which had now gone silent. The baby boy's eyes were closed, but he whimpered in fear and moved one arm, with his little fists clenched tight. The girl let out a short breath of relief, knowing he was ok, and forced her knees to move, bringing herself to a kneeling position. But then she heard approaching hooves and shouts of anger again. Looking back, she saw the soldiers ride their horses straight into town after her. People walking screamed in fear and ran out of the way as the horses pummeled through town.

The soldier pulled back on his restraints, and the horse quickly stopped and kicked, neighing and snorting. He looked to one old hedgehog woman who stared at them fearfully. "Where did the girl go? She was dressed in a brown cape and hood?" he demanded to her. The elderly woman pointed with a shaky hand down the street, fear in her sunken eyes.

"Sh-She went that way," she said, "Nearly got trampled by a carriage." The soldier atop his horse nodded.

"The Mighty Korin thanks you for your honesty," he said to her.

"But what would you want with such an innocent child?" the woman curiously asked. Upon asking, the soldier's face became grim. He did not answer her, he only whipped his reigns, shouting "Hyah!" and the group of soldiers passed the woman, and everyone else, by.

The echidna girl saw the soldiers approaching her, and she pushed herself onto her feet once again and looked behind her quickly before she took off again. She took a sharp turn right in front of a passerby who yelped and stopped as she stepped right in front of him, and she ran into an alleyway between two buildings. She continued down the long, narrow path and turned a corner, but skidded to a stop and gasped, to find that it was a dead end. Panting heavily, she looked back, but she could see their shadows and hear the soldiers' footsteps echoing in the alleyway, there was no escape for her. She looked to her side and found an open window to one of the businesses, and she nuzzled her nose against the little baby's and kissed his forehead. Without thinking twice, she gently lowered the baby through the window and let him fall the last few feet onto the floor on the other side, then she closed the window so the soldiers couldn't hear the baby's cries. She slowly turned around and looked down the alleyway with a straight face as the soldiers approached.

The leader hopped off his horse and pulled out a gun from his belt, shouting, "Don't move or you're dead!" The echidna girl panted heavily as she stared at the man with the gun, who approached her.

A young hedgehog man with grey-blue fur was staying after hours at the shop to sweep up when he heard a small thump, and a little cry. He looked up and slowly set his broom aside, his eyes shifting nervously.

"Hello?" he called. He heard another small whimper and then a constant crying began to echo in the empty room. It sounded like a baby, and he headed over to where the sound was coming from. He headed towards the window, as the small cries turned into louder cries and sobs. With a confused face, he followed the sound to a basket of clothes sitting under the window. As he approached, he thought he saw something move under one of the clothes, and he crept up to it. The hedgehog mumbled, "What in the world..?" as he knelt down by the basket and pulled one of the clothing garments away from whatever had moved under it. The cloth dropped from his hands and he gasped at what he saw in the basket. It was a small, red-furred baby, wrapped in a beautiful woven cloth that only exposed his face. The baby's eyes were squeezed shut, with tears falling down his pudgy, tan cheeks as he cried and screamed. The hedgehog just stared at the baby for a moment before he reached down and picked the swaddled baby up and began to rock him, shushing him quietly. He walked away from the window with the baby, whose cries were fading to little hiccups and whimpers, and said, "What're you doing here little guy?" as he placed a finger under the baby's chin and pulled the cloth away from the baby's neck. However, something odd about this baby caught his eye, and he raised a brow at him. The baby had an unusual, white crescent-shaped marking on his chest, unlike any marking a hedgehog had ever had before. The marking stood out from his red fur like a real, silvery moon, silhouetting a little necklace that was looped around his neck. On the end of rope was a round, gold charm, and etched on it was a name; Nagusaka-Chan, it read.

"Nagusaka? What an odd name for a baby!" the hedgehog commented in a whisper. That's when he heard a loud gunshot echo in the night, startling him and making him jump. Little baby Nagusaka whimpered slightly, but the hedgehog shushed him again, and he headed back over to the window quickly to see where the gunshot had come from. He opened the window and peeked out, but saw no one in the alleyway. However, the baby began to cry again, and the blue-grey hedgehog looked down at the baby and shushed him gently. "It's ok, nobody's here," he said with a high voice to the young baby. Nagusaka had stopped crying again, and he wiggled and yawned, showing one small tooth in his mouth, causing the hedgehog to smile slightly. That's when the baby opened his eyes to the hedgehog for the first time. The baby's big eyes were violet in color, a very odd and unusual eye color, and his pupils were abnormally dilated. The hedgehog gasped slightly as he looked at the child's odd eyes, before he looked down to the baby's body and un-wrapped the cloth. He first removed it from around the baby's head, and then the baby's posterior. He was awestruck at the strange baby he held; this child looked so different from any hedgehog he'd ever seen. He did not have ears like he did, his tail appeared to be broken in two spots, because it was bent in an abnormal, lightning bolt-shaped way, he had claws on his fingers instead of fingernails, and he had two strange spurs on his knuckles on each hand. The baby stared back up at the hedgehog, unblinking, as the hedgehog stared back at him. His hands shook and grew sweaty, as he stared at the abnormal little baby.

"What are you?" he whispered under his breath.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

A young, cobalt blue hedgehog, at only the age of 4, sat on his bed in the candlelight, staring up at the ceiling. He let out a long sigh and turned to his side, where his younger brother was asleep in the bed next to his.

"Silver?" he called, "Are you asleep?" His brother, a silvery-grey colored hedgehog, stirred in his bed and turned to face him.

"No, how 'bout you?" he asked innocently. The older boy mentally rolled his eyes at his little brother, but then again, he was only 2 and 1/2, so he didn't comment.

"No," he replied. "Well, this is the second time this week where dad wasn't even home to tuck us into bed," the hedgehog murmured.

"I'm sure he's just busy," the hedgehog named Silver replied. He gave the blue hedgehog a small, sympathetic look, and continued. "Sonic, please don't worry," he said with a small voice, "I bet daddy will walk through the door any minute now!" The blue hedgehog, named Sonic, sighed.

"I'm not so sure about that, Silver. Mommy and daddy have been fighting a lot lately. I-I'm worried they might be… splitting up," he said quietly. Silver sat up and shook his head no.

"Nuh uh, they'd never do that!" he said with scared eyes. Sonic sat up as well, his head looking down at his legs under the blankets.

"Silver, not everyone lives happily ever after," he said, not looking at his brother. "You'll realize this sooner or later."

"You're wrong!" Silver said in reply, "Daddy's gonna come right through the door any minute now!" he defended. As if on cue, the two hedgehogs heard a door slam shut at that moment, and both of them gasped and leapt out of their beds. They both ran out of their room, shouting "Daddy, daddy!" as they ran up to their dad. They both hugged onto one of their dad's legs as he took off his coat and hung it up. Their mom, a purple-furred hedgehog, leaned up against the doorway with a smile on her face, watching her two sons hugging their dad's legs.

"Hold on now, careful!" the daddy said with a happy voice to his sons. "Let go, daddy's got something really special to show you," he said with a smile, and the two hedgehogs looked up. They saw the bundle their dad held in his arms, and they both believed it to be a treat or a toy for them, and they began to leap up into the air to see it, shouting, "What is it, lemme see!" The dad laughed for a moment, before he rested a hand on each of their heads to stop their bouncing, and he knelt down by them.

"Now be real careful," he whispered to them, and he turned the bundle in his hands and moved the cloth away to reveal the surprise. Inside the cloth was a tiny, red-furred baby who was asleep in their daddy's arms. Silver's face lit up when he saw the infant's tiny face. However, Sonic's face went from a grin to a frown as he looked at the red-furred baby.

"You got us a baby?" he asked his father, looking up to give him a look. Their daddy laughed slightly, looking to his wife to find her looking at him with a concerned look, and he spoke to clarify.

"No son, I found him all by himself. He's a pretty interesting little fella, oddest little hedgehog I've ever seen!" the man replied, and Sonic folded his arms and made disappointed look. The dad felt a tugging on his arm, and he looked down to see Silver tugging on the blanket holding the baby and standing up on his tippy-toes so he could peek up and see more of the baby. Their dad laughed again and lowered the baby so Silver could see better, and the 3-year-old let go of the cloth. "There you go. He's cute, aint he?" the dad commented. Silver looked at the sleeping infant and giggled slightly.

"He looks funny!" he said, and Sonic looked at the baby again too. The cobalt hedgehog reached out and pulled the blanket away from the baby's head, and made a small face.

"He's got no ears," he said with a surprised tone.

"What's his name?" Silver asked. Their dad reached into his pocket with one hand and pulled out the necklace he'd found earlier.

"This was around his neck when I found him. It says Nagusaka-Chan," he said, showing the kids the necklace.

"Nagu…saka? What kind of name is that?" Sonic demanded, as their mother came up to them and put a hand on one of each of the boys' shoulders.

"We can name him Naga!" Silver exclaimed happily.

"Ok boys, I think it's about time you two went to bed," the mom said to them, an she pushed them gently towards their room.

"Goodnight mom, goodnight dad!" the two boys said in unison, and Silver skipped and Sonic trudged towards their bedroom. Silver hopped right into bed with a smile on his face, while Sonic peeked out from behind the door and listened to his parents talking to one another. Their talking turned into strict talking, and then yelling, until the baby started to cry and they went back to whispering. Sonic's eyes grew sad, as he turned from the door and flopped into bed. Silver still sat up in bed, rocking back and forth excitedly, and he looked to his brother.

"Isn't this great Sonic? We have a new brother!" Silver exclaimed happily.

"No Silver, don't say he's our brother, b'cuz he's not," Sonic said flatly, his face still in his pillow. "Mom and dad are fighting again now because if him. They're probably going to send the weirdo baby to an orphanage tomorrow!"

Silver looked at Sonic with big, sad eyes. "B-But… but…" he stammered.

"Go to bed!" Sonic said, and he rolled to his other side, ignoring Silver now. The silvery-grey hedgehog whimpered slightly and lied down on his pillow, facing the wall.

Their dad and mom were talking it out, as the dad held the once-again sleeping baby in his arms.

"Honey, we can't keep this baby, what about his mother?" the mom said as sympathetically as possible. "I'm sure she's looking desperately for her son right this minute."

"Dear, I heard a gunshot a few moments after I found him… I think his mother was killed," he said to her quietly.

"Even then, we can't just keep some stranger's child! What about when he starts to grow up, and he asks us why he looks nothing like us, why he looks so different?" the mom asked, reaching out to unwrap the cloth from around the child. "I mean, look at him! He's different, he's not our kind!" she said to her husband, looking him dead in the eyes. He said nothing as she continued. "Plus that would mean one more mouth to feed, one more to pay for clothes for, one more child to be put in school. Honey, we can't afford this!" she said.

"Well what do you want me to do, throw him back onto the streets?" the dad demanded.

"Take him to the orphanage on the other end of town. He'll be adopted by a family who wants but can't have kids. He'll be happier there!" the mom replied sternly. The dad looked down at the sleeping infant for a moment and sighed

"I know he's different," he said to her in a calm, soothing voice. "But… I can't help but feel as if this baby was meant to be found by me. It's like I can feel this child will do good things some day," he said, looking back down at the sleeping child. The baby made a little gurgling sound and moved his hand up to his mouth in his sleep.

"You've gone mad!" the wife said in reply, and the dad looked back up at his wife.

"I can't leave this baby alone," he said sternly. "If you're going to kick this baby out, then I'm going with him." The mom made a small gasp, as tears came to her eyes.

"Y-You'd… really choose that stranger's baby… over me?" she asked with a hurt voice. The dad did not reply, and simply glared at her with stone-cold eyes. The woman's lip quivered, but then she frowned at him.

"I think you should leave!" she said sternly, "And take your precious baby with you!" The baby began to wake up from the loud voices once again, and the baby let out one, small cry. The dad gently rocked the baby and shushed him, and then he looked back up at his wife, this time with a hint of sadness in his eyes, as if he regretted his decision. However, his wife did not soften from his look, and she stood firm with arms folded. "If that out casted baby is more important than our marriage, then go! Go on, get out of here!" she shouted, and she turned her back on him. The dad sighed, whispered goodbye to her, and with one hand cradling the baby and one hanging limply at his side, he turned and walked out the front door, leaving his wife in tears.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Johan the hedgehog stirred in his sleep and yawned. A small, red figure scuttled close to the ground up to the bed and giggled deviously. Johan's eyes cracked open and he yawned again, then he reached up to rub his eyes. He looked to his side on the bed, but found that his son was gone, and he gasped. He quickly sat up and pulled back the covers, calling his son's name frantically, as the red figure rose up from under the bed behind him. The red figure smiled evilly, and suddenly, he pounced on the hedgehog's back, roaring as he landed on the man and clung onto him like a piggyback ride. Johan nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the child leap onto his back, but then he chuckled and looked back at his son, who was laughing and smiling.

"I sure got you good, huh?" the red-furred boy asked his dad.

"Knuckles, I hate it when you do that!" he said with a smile, and he reached back and gave him a noogie. Knuckles cried out and grabbed his dad around the neck in retaliation. "You think you're so tough?" Johan asked him, and he stood up, leaving Knuckles laughing and dangling by his arms from his dad's neck. He twirled Knuckles around on his back a few times before he sighed and sat back on the bed.

"Ok, that's enough of that, daddy's getting tired!" he said, and then he laid back on the bed, right on top of Knuckles. The red-furred boy shouted and giggled, as his dad pinned him down on the bed and tickled his feet.

"Ah, lemme up, lemme up, truce!" Knuckles cried between a giggle. Then Johan sat back up, and Knuckles panted from laughing so hard and scooted on the bed so he was sitting right next to his dad, his feet hanging off the edge of the bed.

Nagusaka, now nicknamed Knuckles because of his knuckle spurs, was now 14 years old, and he lived with his father, Johan the hedgehog, in a house right on the edge of the forest. He had never grown ears, like Johan had hoped he would, his tail remained broken, but it never hurt him, and the boy's eyes remained violet with his pupils only abnormally thin little slits. His short, shaggy hair that he had as an infant grew into long hair-like spines that reached down to his rump instead of spikes like normal hedgehogs had, and no matter how much Johan tried to get the boy's hair to spike like his did, it did nothing more than lie flat on his head. However, Knuckles had never seen another person besides his father before, so he believed he was just like every other hedgehog.

Despite the child's odd appearance, he and his dad did everything together and loved each other very much. Johan homeschooled the young boy from an early age so he wouldn't have to go to public school, and already Knuckles was smarter than an average 14-year-old. He was already finished with school at his age, when most kids went to school until 17 years of age.

Along with regular knowledge and schooling, Johan also taught Knuckles how to fight. The boy was a very competitive fighter, and had very strong arms for a kid of his age. After all his training, the young kid had the build of a late teen; his arms were very muscular and he was very thin because of his high metabolism. However, because of how different the boy looked from normal hedgehogs, Johan kept Knuckles in hiding. Knuckles didn't have any friends, and he never went into town, always having to stay home whenever Johan went somewhere. Truthfully, the blue-grey hedgehog feared that his son might otherwise realize how different he was from a normal hedgehog and start asking him where he came from, and he just didn't want to break the poor kid's heart. Johan had told Knuckles about his stepmom and brothers, but Knuckles had never had a chance to actually meet them before, although he really wanted to. His ex-wife, who he visited every once and awhile, knew of his fear and understood why he kept his son kept up, although she also wished she could get a chance to meet her "prodigal son."

Later that morning, Johan and Knuckles were eating breakfast when Johan told Knuckles that he was going to head into town to see his stepsons again that day. Knuckles looked up fast and spoke with excitement in his voice.

"Can I come too, please?" he asked. "I've never had a chance to meet them before, I want to see them!" Johan gave Knuckles a saddened look, and Knuckles' excited face sunk into a sad face as well.

"I'm sorry Knuckles, but I already told you 20 times, the town is quite dangerous for a kid at your age! I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," Johan answered with sympathy in his voice. Knuckles let out a disappointed sigh and put his head down, his spines falling into his face and onto the tabletop.

"Yes dad," he said quietly. Johan felt so guilty for keeping his son so far from the rest of his family, and he was caught between what he should do. His son was unhappy now, and if he realized how different he looked, his son would be unhappy later as well. But Johan couldn't stand to see his son so down, and he sighed.

"Oh, alright, you can come and see your brothers!" he said, giving Knuckles a smile. Knuckles looked up at his dad with a big smile on his face.

"Really? You mean it?" he asked. Joan nodded, and Knuckles shouted in excitement and leapt up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Johan asked between small chuckles.

"I'm going to get something, I'll be right back!" Knuckles called, as he ran into their bedroom.

Knuckles reached under the bed and pulled out a wooden box that kept stuff of his in it. Knuckles blew some of the dust off of it and opened the latch. Inside were several little trinkets and things of his that he kept. However, he reached for two objects wrapped in cloth inside the box and set them on the ground. He closed the box and shoved it back under the bed and pulled out his knapsack that he carried with him whenever he went out into the forest. Knuckles he picked up the two objects and stuffed them in his knapsack before he slung it around his shoulder and ran back downstairs. He stopped by his dad and smiled.

"Now I'm ready to go!" he said.

"Alright then, let's get going!" Johan said, giving Knuckles a smile, and he and Knuckles walked out the door and headed towards the town for Knuckles' first time.

All the while as the two of them hiked towards the town, Johan prayed and prayed that Knuckles wouldn't notice the people around them or would be too excited to care about what they looked like. Lucky for him, that seemed to be the case. As they walked on the side of the street, Knuckles' head kept looking from one direction to the other, his excited eyes scanning everything in his view. His brain took in everything he saw, smelled, and heard, and took note of it for him to remember it in the future. All the while, he pointed out every beautiful store window, or flower display, or dress the fancy women were wearing that he saw as if he hadn't seen it the first time.

Finally, the two of them made it to the home of Johan's ex-wife, and he took Knuckles' hand.

"Now remember, they might not be as excited to see you as you are to see them, so don't overwhelm them, ok?" he asked Knuckles, who nodded in reply. "Alright here we go," Johan breathed, and he stepped up to the doorway and knocked.

A purple-furred hedgehog woman answered the door, and she immediately looked right at Johan.

"Hello Johan, how're you?" she asked, leaning up against the doorframe.

"I'm fine," he replied. "I brought someone with me this time," he added, and he looked behind him. Knuckles must've gotten a bit nervous or shy, because he was hiding behind Johan, his arms hugging around his waist fearfully. "Knuckles, say hi," Johan whispered to her.

Knuckles slowly peeked his head out from behind his father and he looked up at his stepmom shyly.

"H'lo," he said quietly. His stepmom was prettier than he envisioned her to be, with a kind smile that made him feel bubbly. He had no clue why he felt so shy all of a sudden, he guess it was just pre-meeting jitters.

His stepmom smiled slightly at him and looked back at Johan. "He's gotten so big!" she commented. "Why don't you both come inside, and I can introduce you to your brothers," she said, looking to Knuckles. Johan walked inside, with Knuckles following close behind. The inside of their house was very large and roomy, and it looked much brighter and nicer than their home, which had been built out of logs a long time ago.

"You have a beautiful house, mom," Knuckles commented.

"You can call me Adriana," his stepmom replied, giving him a small smile. Then she turned towards the hallway and called to the boys. "Caliper, Percy, get over here and meet your stepbrother!" she shouted, and then she turned back to them. "Sorry for shouting, they'll be right over. You know teenagers!" she said with a little laugh. A moment later, two hedgehogs stumbled out of their room and walked up to their mother to greet the guests.

"Hey dad!" a cobalt blue colored hedgehog said with a little half-smile as he approached.

"Dad!" the other hedgehog, a silver-grey one, said as he ran up to him and hugged him.

"Heh heh, hey Cal! Good to see you!" Johan said with a smile, as he ruffled the boy's quills, which stuck up in all directions. Then Johan turned to look at Knuckles, who just stood there the entire time. "Boys, I want you to meet your stepbrother, Knuckles," Johan said. The silver-grey hedgehog walked up to Knuckles and extended a hand for him to shake, while the two parents went into the living room to talk. Knuckles shook his hand, and the hedgehog spoke.

"Hi! I'm Caliper, but everyone calls me Silver!" the hedgehog said with a big, friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you," Knuckles replied, and he looked to the blue hedgehog. "And you must be Percy," he said to him.

"Hey, only mom and dad call me that!" the hedgehog snapped bitterly. "Call me Sonic," he said, and he walked closer to Knuckles.

"O-Ok…" Knuckles replied cautiously, as the hedgehog approached him. He realized that though he was younger than the other two hedgehogs, he was both taller and more physically fit than the both of them. Both of the boys were very skinny, Silver appearing taller than Sonic because of his hair, and they both didn't appear to have very much muscle on their bones.

"So… you're my _little_ half-brother, eh?" Sonic finally commented, as he looked him down like a slave trader would to a slave. "You're bigger than I suspected you to be. You're, what, 13 years old?" Sonic asked.

"14," Knuckles corrected him. The cobalt hedgehog nodded and put a hand to his chin as Knuckles looked at Sonic nervously. "I remember when dad first brought you home," Sonic said. "You definitely were a strange looking one! I was only 4 at the time." Knuckles looked at Sonic with a confused look.

"What do you mean?" he asked him. Silver came up to Sonic and grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Sonic! Mom said not to mention it!" he whispered harshly in the smug blue hedgehog's ear.

"Mention what?" Knuckles asked curiously.

"He deserves to know," Sonic whispered to Silver, before he turned to face his half-brother. "You've realized how you look different from the regular hedgehogs around here," Sonic started. However, Knuckles shook his head no at Sonic's comment. Sonic raised a brow at the red hedgehog.

"What do you mean no? You haven't noticed how you have no ears, your spikes aren't really spikes and more like hair, and your eyes are abnormal? Please tell me you've at least noticed _that_ before!" Sonic said to the confused boy. Knuckles had honestly never thought about that before, and he shook his head no again, his mouth pursed but not saying a word. But now that he mentioned it, Sonic was right; he, Silver, Adriana, and his dad all looked very different from him. But all this time, he thought it was just because he and his dad were a little different, but now that he's had the chance to see other hedgehogs, he wasn't sure if that was the case anymore.

"B-But… dad said I wasn't any different from other hedgehogs," Knuckles murmured quietly.

"I'm not even sure you're a hedgehog!" Sonic continued. Silver suddenly covered up Sonic's mouth, shouting, "Sonic, stop it, can't you see you're upsetting him!" Silver looked towards Knuckles with sympathetic eyes to be stared back at with his abnormal eyes full of tears. Knuckles squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, and he turned away from them and ran out the door.

"Knuckles, wait!" Silver cried, but the red hedgehog did not stop. Silver glared at Sonic, and then he ran after Knuckles, leaving Sonic behind. A moment later, Adriana and Johan walked into the other room to find only Sonic standing there.

"Where's Knuckles and Silver?" Adriana asked Sonic.

"Knuckles said he wanted to go back, and Silver walked back with him. He promised he'd be back before dark," Sonic lied with a smile.

"Well, I should probably head back home myself and check up on him," Johan said, scratching his back with one hand. Sonic bit his lip nervously.

"Uh, no, why don't you two catch up, I'll go check up on him for you!" Sonic said, and with that, he ran out the door super fast, his nickname proving how fast he could run. Johan looked back at Adriana with surprised eyes, but then he smiled.

"Uh… ok then, I guess I could stay a little while longer then," he said, and Adriana nodded in agreement.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Sonic ran at supersonic speeds until he caught up with Silver, who was trying to find Knuckles. Sonic slowed down so he ran in pace with Silver.

"Ok, I'm sorry," he said to Silver, "I shouldn't have said that to the kid. Now help me get him home before dad gets back and finds out he isn't at home, because that's where I told him he'd be!" Sonic told him.

"Fine, I'll help you, but you should really be apologizing to Knuckles, not me!" Silver replied as they turned a corner. They saw a flash of red fur just up ahead disappear into the trees, and they chased after it, calling Knuckles' name.

Knuckles ran deep into the forest, trying to lose the two hedgehogs who were on his heels, so he could stop running and cry like he wanted. Up ahead, he saw a small, stone structure that was half collapsed in on itself, and he ran toward it to hide in it until the hedgehogs passed.

"He went in there!" Sonic shouted, and he and Silver ran into the old building as well, and they slowed to a walk, panting heavily, and they looked at Knuckles who stood in front of them with his back facing them.

"All this time… and my dad wasn't even my real dad?" Knuckles murmured quietly.

"Knuckles, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings," Sonic apologized. "I-I just figured you knew! Dad found you as a baby, and he took you in. He suspected your mother was shot and killed," Sonic said. Knuckles made a small sigh and looked down at his feet, and Silver stepped forward and hugged his shoulder to try and make him feel better. Knuckles brought his head up to look at Silver, who smiled back at him, and then he looked up at the wall in front of him.

"Knuckles… please, don't be mad," Sonic said. But Knuckles looked back at Sonic and unexpectedly shushed him. "Ok, I'm sorry I was being a jerk, ok? But you don't have to be so-" Knuckles shushed Sonic yet again, this time not looking back at Sonic. He was looking at one of the four walls, which he noticed had inscriptions in some kind of foreign language etched into the stone. He looked to Silver, then back at Sonic after looking at the wall for a few moments and spoke.

"Do you hear that?" he asked them. Sonic and Silver both shook their heads no and listened themselves for whatever Knuckles heard.

To Knuckles, it sounded like faint whispering, but there was no one besides them there. "Don't you hear it? It's the wind… it's whispering something to me!" Knuckles said to them, not looking at them this time. Knuckles began to make out what the whispers said; they sounded as though they were chanting "Na-gu-sa-ka…Na-gu-sa-ka…" Knuckles pursed his lips in confusion and repeated them.

"Nagusaka?" he asked out loud. The name rang a bell, but he didn't know why. But that's when Sonic spoke up.

"Yeah, Nagusaka; that's what was written on the necklace on your neck when dad found you. We all thought that was what your name was," he said with a shrug.

"But why would the wind be calling your name?" Silver asked naively. Knuckles looked back at the wall in front of him and squinted slightly.

"I think it wants me to… read this wall," he said quietly.

"Well how're you gonna do that? It's in some kind of ancient language!" Sonic asked him. Knuckles brought his pointer finger and thumb to his chin, and he hummed in thought. But then he remembered that he had his knapsack still with him, and he pulled it off his back and dug into it.

"Aha!" Knuckles exclaimed, and he pulled out one of the two objects he had wrapped in cloth. "I'd made these for you," he said, turning to face Sonic and Silver. "I just need the cloth from one of yours, so I can write the inscription down," Knuckles added.

"You can have mine," Silver said nicely, as he reached down and took one of the objects from Knuckles' hands. Sonic took the other one, and they both opened their gifts. They were two whistles carved from wood and glazed on the top all soft and smooth. Silver's was carved with a wolf head on the whistle and Sonic's was carved with a bear head on it.

"Oh my gosh, thank you Knuckles!" Silver said, and he handed Knuckles the cloth that'd held his whistle.

"You're welcome," Knuckles replied. "That way, if you're ever in trouble, you can just blow your whistle, and you'd know if your brother was in trouble." Knuckles took out a chunk of lead that he used as a pencil and began to copy the inscription on the wall onto the white cloth. As he wrote, he spoke to them.

"Blow on them, they each make different sounds," he said as he wrote. Sonic looked down at his whistle and then brought it to his mouth and blew on it. The sound his made was lower and seemed to rattle the stones in the building like a thunderous bear. Sonic finished and smiled, and then Silver blew on his. Silver's whistle made a higher, smoother sound that seemed graceful like a majestic wolf. Silver finished and smiled also, and he looked to Knuckles again.

"Wow! That's so cool!" he said to him.

"Now you can tell your whistle sounds apart, so you can recognize which one is whose," Knuckles said, stuffing the lead chunk into his knapsack again and looking up at the two of them.

"You should go to the library, I'm sure they have a book somewhere that can show you what language that is," Sonic told Knuckles.

"I've never been to the library before," Knuckles replied meekly.

"We can meet up with you and both walk over together," Silver replied. Knuckles smiled and nodded.

"Thank you," he replied, "I don't know why, but I've just got to find out what this says," he said, looking down at the cloth in his hands.

"Well, it was great to finally meet you Knuckles," Sonic said, and he looked to Silver. "…But we've got to get home now; I promised mom we'd be back before dark."

"Bye!" Silver said, waving to Knuckles, and the two of them headed out the mouth of the building and back towards town.

"Bye," Knuckles said quietly, also waving goodbye to them. He sighed and looked back up at the wall with the inscription on it again, and the wind whistled through the mouth of the building again, chanting "Na-gu-sa-ka… Na-gu-sa-ka…" Knuckles shuddered slightly, before he swung his knapsack back onto his back and headed back home.


	2. Chapter 2

Meanwhile, halfway across the continent, in the capitol called Paulet **(Pronounced Pow-lay)**,in the center of this city, the emperor called together a meeting with the generals of each of their armies. The emperor, named Korin, sat atop his throne and looked down at the five generals who bowed on their knee before him. Korin was an orange hedgehog with his spines pulled back into a ponytail; he wore a pure silk, purple and red robe with gold tassels and held a scepter made of pure gold with a blue jewel on the top in his hand. Korin did not look pleased, as he looked at his generals.

"You may rise," he said, his voice echoing in the large open space of his palace. At his command, the generals all stood back up and made eye contact with Korin. Korin closed his eyes and touched his fingertips together slowly, before he opened his eyes again and spoke.

"Are you finished wiping out all of the savage echidnas?" he asked the generals. One stepped forward first, his helmet under his arm.

"My army has enslaved and killed every one of them in the Polar Regions, sir," he replied.

"We've killed off all the echidnas on the edge of the neighboring territories, as far as you instructed," another general replied. The other 3 generals shared their success, then stepped back as the others had, and Korin looked at them with his hands still attached at the fingertips. He still did not look pleased.

"Have you gone to the fox territories, or the wolf territories, or the reptile territories? Those invaders live among those territories as well!" Korin asked them, but none of the generals spoke up, until one made a brave move.

"But sir," the fourth general spoke up, a younger hedgehog with a scar on his eye, "Those are not our territories. We've made a pact to stay off of their territory if they stayed off of ours!" he said. Korin looked directly at the general who'd spoken up and curled up his lip.

"And do you, sir, realize what creatures we're dealing with?" Korin demanded, standing up in his throne and pounding his fist on the arm rest of his seat. "The echidnas have never fit in anywhere! Those gypsies roam all over, spreading like fires that can never be put out! If we only put out half the fire, it will only grow larger somewhere else! No matter what, they will always pose a problem!" Korin shouted at the generals. "The creatures never chose a single place to build on from, and mingled into other territories… and the other emperors found no problem in this!" he seethed.

"But… sir?" a different general asked, "Instead of wiping out the echidna population, why do we not just force them to make their own territory and stay in it? I-I mean… killing them all seems a bit rash, doesn't it?" he asked. Korin did not see with the man's reasoning, and he growled in his throat. Without another word, he sat back down in his throne, glaring at the general who'd spoken. He raised one hand up and snapped his fingers, and at the snap, guards came around and surrounded the one general and grabbed him.

"No, please! I-I'm sorry, I'll never speak out of turn again, please, don't do this!" the general pleaded. All of the other hedgehogs simply watched as the guards took the one general away, then they looked back up at Korin when they heard him sigh. The orange hedgehog had his face in his hand, and he was rubbing his temples.

"Send out for a new general," he said to a guard that stood by his side, and the guard dressed in armor nodded and walked away. Korin looked back at the other four generals and spoke again.

"Now you know why I want all the echidnas gone as soon as possible!" he said to them. "If enough people knew about the echidna's existence and wanted to do something about it, they might revolt and our plan would be completely ruined."

"What do you propose we do?" one general tentatively asked.

"I want you to recruit more troops. Any boy over the age of 17 is to become a soldier, so we can storm any un-owned territory and kill the beasts or convince the people of other territories around the world to banish the echidnas from their lands," Korin commanded. He lowered his head, and an evil glint flashed in his eye. "They thought they were so clever, hiding from our grasp, but we'll get them!" he sneered, and he flashed a disturbed smile.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

"There has to be a book on ancient languages somewhere in here," Sonic said, as he fingered through the stack of books labeled "Ancient History." Silver and Knuckles searched in other piles as well, and Knuckles held the cloth from the other day in one hand. Finally, Silver spoke up.

"Hey, would this work? 'Spoken and Written Languages of the Past'?" he asked, holding up a book.

"Sure, let's see if that works!" Sonic replied, and he headed over to the table where Silver was along with Knuckles. The three of them looked together as Silver flipped through the pages, looking between the cloth and the book to try and match the pictures together. It took awhile, before Silver found one that looked pretty similar.

"Hey, look, I think I found it!" Silver said, pointing to a picture of hieroglyphics on a wall in the book.

"It says it's ancient Echidnean," Sonic said, then raising a brow confusedly. "But this makes no sense… echidnas were wiped out a long time ago," he said.

"Well maybe some Echidnean spirit is trying to talk to me or something? Maybe they want to bring back their tribe or something?" Knuckles suggested.

"Maybe," Sonic said, standing back up. "C'mon, let's find a book on the Echidnean language so we can translate what this says," he said, grabbing up the cloth and heading back over to the history section.

After several more hours of looking and searching, and breaking for lunch, the boys finally found a book on the ancient echidna tribes. And lucky for them, there was a translation in the glossary for the echidna hieroglyphs. It was an ABC guide, with a symbol and a letter for each. Knuckles sat down right in the middle of the floor with it, saying, "Ok, let's see what we've got here." His eyes darted back and forth between the book and the cloth as he looked for each letter and wrote the letter under each glyph on the cloth. Once he finished, he closed the book and looked at the cloth.

"Alright now, translated it says, 'The servers are the seven chaos… chaos is power enriched by the heart… the controller exists to unify the chaos,'" Knuckles read. He looked up at Sonic, who looked equally confused back at him, while Silver was looking through the book on echidnas again.

"Well… that's cool," Sonic finally spoke.

"I wonder why the spirits would want me, of all people, to read this in that little temple," Knuckles pondered out loud.

"Uh, Knuckles… I think you might want to take a look at this," Silver called, looking up from the book to give Knuckles a concerned look. Knuckles walked over to him and looked down at the book, at the picture Silver pointed at, and his eyes widened. The picture was a painting of what an ancient echidna would've looked like, and what was strange was how the echidna in the picture looked a lot like him! The creature had dark red fur and long, hair-like spines that hung down limply just like his did. He also did not have ears, just like him, his hands had claws and knuckle spurs just like him, and the echidna's eyes had the same thin, slit-like pupils that he did. Knuckles gasped and grabbed the book from Silver, looking closer at the picture. He lifted one of his spines in his hand and looked at it, then back at the picture again. A moment later, he felt breathing on his neck, and found Sonic was looking over his shoulder at the picture as well, for the blue hedgehog muttered "Oh my god" in surprise.

"Th-This echidna… he looks like… me!" Knuckles stammered. He suddenly dropped the book and backed away, causing Sonic to trip backwards and fall into a bookshelf. Knuckles didn't seemed to have noticed it, for he was too busy gripping at his head tightly, breathing heavily from being so startled. Sonic shook his head and looked up at Knuckles, who was crouched close to the ground, his hands squeezing the top of his head so tightly that his fingertips turned white, and he stared forward at nothing in particular.

"Knuckles… c-calm down… the painting is probably inaccurate," Silver tried to convince him. Knuckles, however, did not listen to him, and he spoke with a shaky voice.

"I-I'm an echidna?" he murmured. "No! No, I can't be! I'm a hedgehog, not an echidna!" he said, louder.

"But, how do you explain the picture then?" Silver asked. Knuckles felt tears burning at his eyes, but he blinked them away, not wanting to accept the truth, and he grabbed the cloth off the floor and bolted towards the exit.

"Knuckles! Wait!" Sonic called, and he got up and ran after the echidna. Silver watched them leave, and he grabbed up the book and headed over to the counter to check it out.

"We might be needing this," he said to himself, as he brought it up to the register.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sonic followed Knuckles closely behind him, and the boy ran back to the stone temple they had been in the other day. Sonic stopped behind Knuckles, and he guessed that he did not know he was behind him. Knuckles sniffled and wiped at his eyes with the inside of his arm, before he looked down at the crumpled cloth in his hand, and he unfolded it. Some of the lead had been smeared, but it was still legible, and anyways, the saying was still buzzing in his mind like angry bees. The wind kept chanting his name as he stood there in the silence and looked up at the wall. Knuckles let out a long sigh and held the cloth in both hands in front of his chest, and he closed his eyes.

"Please, tell me… who am I?" he whispered under his breath, before he looked up at the inscription on the wall in front of him and recited the saying. "The servers are the seven chaos. Chaos is power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one who unifies the chaos," he said. And the moment he finished his sentence, he felt the earth under his feet tremble and shake, as small stones began to fall from the ceiling. The soft whispers in the wind turned to loud shouts, as the wind roared through the opening like a storm.

"Knuckles, watch out!" Sonic exclaimed, startling him, and the blue hedgehog ran forward and grabbed him, pulling him out of the way of the wall. The building continued to shake, and the two boys noticed that the wall appeared to be moving. And then, it opened up like a doorway, the rock creaking and scraping on the stone floor as it opened to reveal a smaller room. And as soon as it started, the trembling and loud winds stopped, and everything was silent again. Sonic and Knuckles gasped, their mouths gaping, and Knuckles stepped forward. Only he could hear it, but the gentle whispers were coaxing him to go forward, telling him, "Go on, it's safe, go on." Dust fell from him as he walked up to the doorway in the wall, and Sonic reached forward, grabbing at nothing, and called his name.

"Don't worry," Knuckles looked back, "They say it's safe." He walked into the doorway and looked around the dark, stone room. And then he heard the stone scraping again, and he whirled around to find the door closing behind him, plunging him into darkness.

Sonic screamed no and ran up to the door as it closed, but he couldn't catch it before it slammed.

"KNUCKLES!" Sonic screamed, pounding his fists on the stone.

"SONIC! Sonic, help me!" Knuckles cried, pounding on the other end of the wall, but he couldn't hear any reply through the stone. "SONIC!" he shouted again, but suddenly, he heard a loud whoosh and the room was suddenly lit bright with the light of a fire. The sudden whoosh startled Knuckles, and he jumped and whirled around again to find a gold pot full of oil that was now lit ablaze. Knuckles' eyes shifted nervously in the small room to find who or what had lit it, and he called hello nervously. And that's when a green light glared in the corner of his eye, and he squinted and looked to his side to see where the glare was coming from. Lying on top of a stone table was a shard of some kind of emerald green stone, and it pulsated and glowed a bright green. Knuckles walked up to the stone table and reached out to touch the stone, and the moment his fingers made contact with the stone's cold surface, the shard's green glow engulfed him, and he covered his eyes with his hands and cried out in fear.

When the light faded, he uncovered his eyes to find himself standing in the middle of a large temple with a giant fireplace in the center, which was lit with the most beautiful looking fire Knuckles had ever seen. It glowed beautiful oranges, reds, and yellows, but also had flares of blues, purples, and greens in it as well. A beautiful music was playing, and the sounds of mysterious flutes licked at his eardrums. But then something behind the fireplace moved, and Knuckles looked up. Past the fireplace was a set of stairs, and at the top of these stairs stood an opaque figure that did not move from its spot. Knuckles squinted slightly, then walked around the fireplace and to the base of the stairs to get a better look at the figure. She appeared to be female, and an echidna like he'd seen in the book. She was all white, with a flowing silvery-white dress that flapped in the warm, sweet-smelling breeze along with her long spines. Her soft, milk white face held a straight face, as she stood in her spot with her hands folded at her forehead. And then she opened her eyes to look at Knuckles, to reveal golden eyes and slits for pupils that looked sharper than a steel dagger. Knuckles gulped nervously then spoke.

"Wh-Who am I?" he asked, his voice echoing in the large temple. The echidna girl looked at him for several more moments, before she spoke with a faint, whispering voice.

"Nagusaka, you are the guardian," she said. Knuckles furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I-I'm what? What's a guardian?" he asked her.

"You are the savior of our clan, the last echidna in a land of hatred and deception," she continued without answering his question. Her voice was gentle and smooth, though quiet, and it danced in Knuckles' ears like a symphony. The girl separated her hands and held out one towards him. And in her hand, appeared the green shard he'd found just moments before. The shard continued to pulsate a bright green light as the girl held it, until she handed it to Knuckles. The moment he touched it, the shard's violent pulsating calmed and stopped, and it only glowed warmly then. "You have already found one shard. There are 6 more left to be found, and they have scattered to all corners of this world. You must find the rest of them to discover your ultimate power," the white echidna said to him. Knuckles' eyes widened in surprise.

"I have powers?" he asked excitedly.

"Your guide will help you track and hold onto the shards. The echidna nation is not dead Nagusaka, remember whose side you are on. You are the last echidna, and the guardian that will save us all," she said to him, her voice fading. And just like that, the echidna girl vanished. Knuckles looked around quickly, and then he shouted.

"No, please, don't go! I have so many questions!" he cried, but he got no reply. And that's when his violet eyes began to glow.

Sonic pounded once again on the stone, but his voice had grown weary from shouting, and when he called Knuckles' name, it came out in no more than a crack of his voice. Sonic leaned his face up against the wall, but that's when he felt it trembling. Sonic gasped and stepped backwards, as the door opened once again, and in the darkness of the room, he saw Knuckles' figure standing in the doorway with his violet eyes glowing wildly. Sonic shrieked slightly in fear and stepped back, but once the door was open, the trembling stopped and Knuckles' knees wobbled. He blinked and his eyes stopped glowing, and he put a hand to his head and fell to his knees.

"Knuckles!" Sonic exclaimed, and he ran up and caught his half-brother before he fell face-first onto the ground. Knuckles moaned slightly and looked up at Sonic, who held him up from under the armpits with both his arms.

"Oh hey Sonic, what happened?" he asked him, as Sonic stood him back up on his feet.

"You tell me! You were the one with the freaky, glowing eyes just then!" Sonic replied. Knuckles' eyes suddenly widened when he remembered what he'd learned, and he looked down at his hand, which still held the green shard in his hand. Sonic also looked down and asked, "What is that thing?"

"It's… my destiny," Knuckles whispered, and he looked up at Sonic in all seriousness.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ok, guardian… let's see here… aha; guardians!" Silver said, as he flipped through the book he'd checked out and found the right page. The three boys sat at Knuckles' special hideout place in the forest, a giant carved-out tree trunk he'd found when he was 8, and they all looked in the book for more clues as to what was going on. "Once every generation, a single male echidna is born chosen to be the guardian of the echidna's very special gem. Each chosen echidna is given the mark of the guardian, a white crescent moon that symbolizes bravery and strength in the Echidnean legend," Silver read. Knuckles looked to the white crescent mark on his chest and stroked the fur at that one spot gently.

"So… I'm the guardian?" he asked himself.

"It appears so," Sonic replied.

"Here, let's continue," Silver said, and he looked back down at the book. "This gem, called the Master Emerald, is an extremely powerful gem that holds the power of chaos, chaos that only the guardian can control and use. This is why the destiny of that echidna is very important, because that much power could cause great devastation, or great peace, depending on the hand that controls it. It is said that the guardian is blessed with strength and chaos powers beyond that of any other creature on the planet, but can only perform these tasks when in the presence of the Master Emerald."

Knuckles looked down at the shard in his hand. "So, does that mean that this shard is a piece of the Master Emerald? And if I found all the pieces to this rock, I'd gain ultimate power?" Knuckles rhetorically asked.

"I don't like this," Sonic butted in. "This just doesn't seem to make sense! If he's an echidna, then why do books and teachers and… well, everybody, say that they're extinct? And why give this much responsibility to a 14-year-old kid?" he demanded. "Not that I don't like you, Knuckles, I think you're awesome, but seriously, c'mon, would you want to put the greatest, ultimate power on him?" Sonic demanded, gesturing to Knuckles, who looked at Sonic for a moment before he smiled innocently. Silver sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Don't listen to him, he's just jealous because he's the oldest," he said to Knuckles.

"Hey! I'm 18, a legal adult!" Sonic defended, "I think I could be a little more responsible with that much power than he can!" Sonic said pointing to Knuckles again, to find him balancing the emerald shard on his pointer finger with a bored expression on his face.

"Can we continue please? I'm getting bored!" Knuckles complained. Sonic folded his arms disappointedly and frowned.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Silver defended him, and he brought back up the book. "Ahem. It says that every quarter moon, the guardian's powers can grow stronger than normal, even when away from the emerald," he read.

"Every quarter moon… that's twice a month, right?" Knuckles asked. Silver nodded in reply. Knuckles rolled his eyes up to the top of his head in thought. "The echidna girl also told me that my 'guide' would help track and hold onto the shards for me," he said, "What do you think she meant by guide?" he asked. Silver flipped through the pages about the guardian for a moment, then he found something.

"Right here, it says that the guardian often had one pet that specifically chose them, called their guide, which kept them company and protected them. It acts as a means of protection from predators and a powerful containment unit for the shards, should the emerald ever be broken. But first the guardian needs to bond to it." Silver looked up and at Knuckles in confusion.

Before anyone had the chance to ask what that'd meant, they heard a loud roar that sent shivers down their spines. Knuckles peeked out from the opening in the trunk and looked both ways.

"What is it? Do you see anything?" Sonic asked, and he reached out to poke Knuckles' back. He nearly touched him when Knuckles suddenly screamed, making both the hedgehogs shudder and cringe from the loud scream. Knuckles quickly brought his head back in and backed up to the back of the trunk, breathing heavily.

"What is it?" Silver asked anxiously.

"A-A-A monster!" Knuckles cried. And then they felt the trunk they hid in shake, as whatever was out there was grabbing the trunk and uprooting it. And the next thing the three boys knew, the trunk was thrown aside with them in it. They all tumbled out of the opening and landed in the grass. Sonic moaned and brought up his head, spitting out grass from his mouth.

"What the heck was that?" he demanded, looking to his side. The other two were staring up at something in complete horror, so Sonic looked up as well, and his question was answered. Sonic's voice squeaked in fear, as he stared up at the creature standing above them. It looked like a giant wolf-like creature, the size of a large bear, with black fur, needle-sharp teeth that stuck out from its mouth on the top and bottom, talon claws for feet, a pair of black raven wings that sprouted from its shoulder blades, and glowing red, beady eyes that stared straight at them. Otherwise, it had the body build of a really muscular wolf, and its tail swished angrily at them as it snarled and roared.

Knuckles shuddered on the ground as he remained perfectly still and stared up at the beast. But then he noticed the white marking on the beast's chest; it was a crescent moon shape, just like his own marking, and Knuckles realized this creature must be his guide.

"Guys, I think this is my guide," Knuckles whispered to the others through clenched shut teeth.

"Are you crazy?" Sonic whispered back.

"I'm serious! Look at its chest!" Knuckles whispered. Sonic and Silver also noticed the marking, and Silver whispered.

"You need to bond with it then, like the book said." The wolf hunched a little lower and snarled louder, waiting for a sign of movement.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Knuckles whispered back.

"I don't know, pet it or something," Silver replied, "But do it fast, I think it thinks we look tasty!" he added, as the wolf licked it drooling chops hungrily. Knuckles reluctantly came to a slow stand, and the wolf beast snarled and looked directly at Knuckles. "Uh... h-hey buddy!" Knuckles stammered, waving to the beast. All it did in reply was snarl and bear more of its teeth at him.  
"N-Now you listen here! I'm the guardian, and I command you to be nice... uh, please?" Knuckles mustered to the toughest of his ability. The wolf made a confused growl and cocked its head at him.  
"Good job Knuckles, I think it's working!" Sonic shouted to him. But suddenly, the wolf's mouth opened and a long, sticky tongue shot out of its mouth and wrapped itself around Knuckles' waist. Knuckles yelped, and then whimpered in fear as the creature raised him off the ground and close to its eyes. Sonic and Silver shouted his name in fear, bulgur when they dared to step close, the wolf snarled at them and they froze.  
The wolf glared Knuckles in the eye, squeezing him tightly with its tongue.  
"No no no, please, don't eat me!" Knuckles pleaded. "I'm your master! Look, see, we have the same mark! You're my guide, so... Put me down!" he exclaimed, using the sternest voice he could muster. The wolf made a confused sound and cocked its head again, looking at Knuckles with eyes that looked a bit less frightening. As Knuckles stared into the beast's eyes, he thought he felt a small pop in his head.  
"Put me down!" Knuckles repeated firmly, "NOW!" This time, the wolf actually whimpered, and it lowered Knuckles to the floor. It sat down in front of him with its ears down sadly, and Knuckles felt bad for yelling at it.  
"Aw, I'm sorry I had to yell at you," he said to the wolf, a d he reached up and scratched under the wolf beast's chin. It panted happily and kicked it's foot as he scratched, and then it shook its head and looked down at Knuckles with its tongue hanging out with drool lolling from it. It brought its head closer to Knuckles and licked him, wetting down his entire face, and Knuckles giggled and exclaimed, "Ew, gross!" He immediately felt a bond between him and the animal, like when he stared him in the eyes and showed who was boss, it just clicked. He reached up and wiped off the drool from his face and looked back to his two friends, to find them both staring at him with gaping wide mouths.  
"He's fine now!" Knuckles said with a smile, and the two hedgehog looked up at the giant wolf who was scratching at its flank, but stopped and looked at them with its tongue hanging out when it noticed them staring with surprised looks, its wings flittering happily.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"That was amazing!" Silver exclaimed, as the three of them walked back towards Knuckles' home, being followed by the giant, winged wolf. "...You really have a way with animals!"  
"Yeah, whatever, he's amazing!" Sonic said sarcastically with a wave of his arms. "...But I could've easily taken that thing down!"  
"Psh, yeah? How, by screaming at it to death?" Silver asked equally sarcastic, giving Sonic a look. Then he looked to Knuckles. "What're you going to do with it?" he asked him. "I doubt your dad's going to let you keep a bear-sized wolf dog in your house."  
"I could keep it outside and build it a nice home!" Knuckles said. He looked back at the wolf dog following them and smiled.  
"What're you going to name it?" Silver asked him with a smile. Knuckles smirked back and replied.  
"I like the name Mika."  
"Puh-lease, Mika? Yeah, cuz that practically screams fierce danger!" Sonic said sarcastically with a wave of his hands. "I was thinking something more along the lines of Killer, Jaws, or Fang!"  
"Uh, Sonic..?" Knuckles interrupted. "She's a girl," he said with a raised eyebrow. The wolf looked down at Sonic and growled a warning at him.  
"Heh heh... sorry ma'am!" Sonic apologized, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Knuckles turned back to the wolf and reached out to pet her.  
"Do you like the name Mika?" he asked her as he stroked her nose. The wolf barked and licked Knuckles' cheek. Knuckles giggled and wiped off his cheek. "I'll take that as a yes!" he said, and they continued walking.  
"Still though, she's huge! How're you going to ever convince your dad to keep her?" Silver re-asked Knuckles.  
"I don't know... I guess I'll have to sneak her," Knuckles replied. As if to answer their question, Mika barked and caught their attention. She nudged the emerald shard Knuckles held in his hand and wrapped her tongue around it.  
"Hey, no, Mika! That's mine!" Knuckles tried to tell her, but Mika took it from his hand and brought it back to her.  
"She's going to eat it!" Sonic exclaimed. Sure enough, Mika brought the shard into her mouth, and her red eyes glowed a bright, emerald green. And then she began to shrink and morph. She continued to shrink and shrink, and her clawed talons turned into soft, padded paws. Her teeth shrunk and became that of a normal dog's and her eyes turned green and grew larger. Once she'd finished, she was only the size of a small cat, and her wings hand turned from a ghastly black to a heavenly white. Now Mika looked exactly like a miniature black wolf with wings. Mika stuck out her tongue again and panted happily, whimpering. Knuckles then realized what she'd just done.  
"Oh, I get it!" he said out loud, and he turned to his half-brothers. "Remember, the book said she was a containment for the shards. That's how she contains them! I guess she can also turn into a smaller, portable pet!" he said with a smile.  
"So... she contains the shards by eating them?" Sonic asked with a unbelieving look on his face.  
"Yep!" Knuckles replied with a grin. Sonic looked to Silver.  
"Well, I guess it is one of the best ways to keep it safe right now..." Silver admitted to Sonic under his breath, and then he spoke louder to Knuckles. "Well, the good news is, she won't be quite so hard to hide from your dad anymore!" Silver said. Mika helped happily, licked her nose, and the stuck out her tongue again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, I haven't updated in quite awhile! I guess I have a bit of writer's block right now, so I wrote this. Enjoy, read, review, no rude comments plz?**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Knuckles awoke the next morning early, to the sound of whimpering, and he looked to the window. Mika was pawing at the closed windowpane, her muffled whining echoing in the bedroom. Knuckles quickly, but quietly, got up out of bed, not waking his father, and he tiptoed to the window.

"Ssshh, Mika, quiet! Don't let dad hear!" he whispered, looking back at his dad, who moaned and rolled in his sleep. Mika licked at the glass between them and whimpered quietly again, and Knuckles couldn't stand to see Mika looking at him like that, so he gave in. "Alright, fine," he whispered, and he slowly opened the window. Mika stood up and her tail began to frantically wag back and forth, as Knuckles opened the window and reached for her. Mika hopped onto his hands and licked his face repeatedly. Knuckles chuckled under his breath quietly and said "stop it" to the dog. He perched Mika onto one of his shoulders and scratched between her ears. "Good girl, now stay quiet," he whispered to her. But Mika was so happy, and the scratching just felt so good, she couldn't help but let out a happy yelp, loud enough to startle Johan awake. Knuckles flinched heavily as Mika yelped, and he quickly reached up and pinched Mika's top and bottom jaw shut with his fingers to keep her from barking again. Johan had sat up in bed, startled by the sound, but hadn't quite opened his eyes fully yet.

"Knuckles? What was that noise?" he muttered sleepily, slowly turning his head towards where his son would've normally been sleeping. Knuckles quickly reached for Mika and shoved her under his nightshirt, in the back, as Johan looked up from the bed towards him.

"What are you doing out of bed? And what was that noise?" Johan repeated. Knuckles kept his arms straight down, so his shirt remained taut and Mika didn't fall out of the back of his shirt. He just stood there for a moment, hoping his dad wouldn't notice the large lump in the back of his shirt where Mika was.

"O-Oh, I was, uh… getting up early to make breakfast for you," Knuckles lied.

"Well then, what was that yelp?" Johan asked him, rubbing his tired eyes. Knuckles bit his lip.

"I… tripped… yeah! I was getting out of bed and I tripped over that root again," he said, pointing to the submerged root on the dirt floor near the bed. Knuckles felt Mika move under his shirt, obviously she was uncomfortable, and she whined again. Knuckles moaned in fake pain over the sound of the whining, making it seem as though the sound was him, and he grabbed at his foot like it was hurt, making sure to still keep his arms down.

"Oh dear, that blasted root! I've been meaning to get that thing removed. I'm sorry you tripped over it son," Johan said. "I'll tell you what. How about later on today, you and I get out the saw and we can both help get rid of it once and for all, ok?" he asked. The red echidna nodded. Johan got out of bed and walked up to Knuckles, who still held his foot. "Here, let me see your foot," he said, holding out a hand. Knuckles, however, backed up so Johan couldn't see the bulge under the back of his shirt, and he spoke nervously.

"Uh, no thanks dad, I'm ok, really!" he said, "You don't have to worry."

"You sure? You sounded like you were really in pain?" Johan asked him. Mika kicked irritably at the shirt with her back paws, and Knuckles clenched his jaw nervously and shifted his shoulders, to try and get Mika to stop.

"Y'Know dad, actually, could you get me some ice to put on it? I don't want it to swell," Knuckles said, giving his dad a nervous smile. Johan looked at Knuckles suspiciously for a moment, before he turned towards the bedroom door.

"Sure son," he said, and he left the room.

"Bye dad!" Knuckles said, waving to him with one hand as the door closed. But then, Mika slipped from under his shirt and fell to the floor below him, letting out a yelp as she hit the floor. Knuckles flinched at the sound of the yelp, then slowly lowered his hand.

"Eh heh… oops," he muttered, "Sorry girl," he said, looking down at Mika.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Knuckles opened the bedroom door and peeked out into the hallway, to make sure his dad wasn't in the hallway. Luckily, there was no sign of him, and Knuckles opened the door the rest of the way and tiptoed into the hallway. Knuckles held Mika in his hands and clamped her mouth shut so she couldn't bark again, as he snuck across the hall and opened the closet door.

"I'm sorry Mika, but you're going to have to stay in here for now," Knuckles whispered to the little wolf dog, and he set the dog on the floor inside the closet. Then he placed a blanket in the corner of the closet and lifted Mika onto it. "This will have to be your bed until I can make you a home outside," Knuckles whispered to the dog, as he tucked her snowy-white wings into the blanket. Mika looked up at Knuckles with her big, green eyes all sad and guilty, but Knuckles looked away before he could fall for her guilt trap. "I'm sorry girl, but my dad can't know I snuck you in," he whispered to her, "I'll be back in awhile with some food for you," he said to her, and he stroked her head before he quickly left, closing the door behind him. Mika stood up with a small yelp, the blanket plopping to the ground beside her, and she padded up to the door and scratched at the wood with her paws, another small, sad whimper escaping her throat. She peeked out from under the doorway and looked into the hallway, watching Knuckles' red-furred bare feet walk away down the hall.

Knuckles walked into the kitchen.

"Actually, dad, my foot feels better already. I probably won't need that ice," Knuckles told Johan. The blue-grey hedgehog nodded in reply and closed the icebox before the large cubes of ice inside it could melt.

"Well, glad to see you're feeling better," Johan said. "So, you still up to making breakfast?" he asked with a wink. Knuckles huffed and smiled.

"Sure dad, what would you like?" he asked.

Later on, after the two had finished their breakfast, Knuckles snuck back towards the closet with some sausages for Mika. However, as he approached the closet door, he was shocked to find the door open, and Mika nowhere to be seen. Knuckles gasped and looked into the closet, quietly calling Mika's name. He walked inside and lifted up the blanket, but the dog-wolf was not in there. Knuckles sucked in a nervous breath and ran to the closet door again, looking down the hallway for the little black dog-wolf.

"Mika? Mika! Where are you?" Knuckles harshly whispered. He searched in his and his dad's bedroom as well, but she wasn't there. And then, he heard his dad call his name from the family room, and he didn't exactly sound happy. Knuckles felt his fur bristle and he quickly ran into the room.

"Y-Yes dad?" he asked, stopping in front of his dad, whose arms were folded in front of his chest.

"You're hiding something from me," Johan said sternly. Knuckles silently gulped, and he chewed on his knuckle.

"H-Hiding? Why would I be hiding something from you?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"Knuckles, Sonic and Silver told you something yesterday, didn't they?" Johan asked. Knuckles tapped his fingertips together and smiled showing his teeth.

"No, of course not. Why, what would they say that's that bad?" he innocently asked. There was no way he was telling his dad about what he'd found out in one day. But then, Knuckles' eyes trailed off towards the kitchen and he saw Mika! She was climbing onto the storage cabinets, where they stored their cured meats.

"I don't know, I'm just worried about you. You're my son, and I don't want you to feel upset," Johan said with a smile.

"_Right…" _Knuckles thought distractedly, before he walked towards the kitchen. "I know dad. I'm fine, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go for a walk," he said, and he secretly grabbed Mika as he walked towards the door. "Bye dad!" Knuckles called, before he closed the door and sat Mika on the floor outside the house.

"Mika, you naughty girl! You almost got seen!" Knuckles scolded, pointing a finger at the dog. Mika looked down guiltily at the floor, her ears lowered, and she whined sadly. Knuckles sighed and shook his head, then he turned away from her and headed out into the woods. "Come Mika," Knuckles called, and the dog bounded up to him, tongue lolling, completely forgetting that she had been scolded as she followed Knuckles. The two of them walked a small ways, closer to the city. Knuckles sat down in the grassy hill right above the edge of town and looked out at the small citizens walking around on the streets below. Mika sat next to Knuckles and licked at his cheek. Knuckles wiped away her drool and smiled at her, before he looked out at the city again.

"I don't know what to think, Mika," Knuckles said to the dog-wolf. "I-I'm apparently supposed to be this great hero, but… I don't think I know what to do," he said. "How am I possibly going to tell dad all of this? It'd break his heart if I left," he said. Knuckles looked up at the sky above, at the puffy white clouds floating slowly across the sky. "What if I can't do it?" he muttered. Mika yapped and nuzzled her nose under Knuckles' armpit, and Knuckles huffed and stroked her forehead gently. "And, if the Master Emerald's shards are really spread out across the entire world, then how on earth am I supposed to get there to find them?" he asked out loud. Mika yapped again, and she flapped her wings, the feathers tickling Knuckles' nose. He huffed again and scratched behind Mika's ears.

"I'm sorry girl, but your little wings won't be able to fly me all across the world," he said to her. But then, Mika stepped away from Knuckles and arched her back. She suddenly began to grow to her large size again, her wings turning ghastly black again and her eyes shrinking and turning red. However, her claws and teeth did not come in as well, and Mika wagged her tail and barked at Knuckles. Knuckles looked up at Mika, gawking at her new size, after nearly forgetting about her ability to shrink and grow. But then he realized what Mika was getting at, and his eyes widened.

"Oh, I get it! I can ride on you!" Knuckles said with a smile, and he petted Mika's wet nose. "You're a good girl!" he said to her. Mika lowered her head towards the ground, and Knuckles stepped onto Mika's nose and hopped up on top of her head, then slid down onto her neck.

"We should have a secret word, to get you moving!" Knuckles said to Mika. He thought for a moment, before he thought of something. "How about… kiya!" he said. The moment he said kiya, Mika leapt into the air and suddenly began to fly into the sky. "Whooooah!" Knuckles cried, and he grabbed onto Mika's shaggy neck fur to keep him on her back as she flew higher and higher into the sky. Knuckles took several deep breaths to calm himself, before he opened his eyes and looked around in awe. They were flying past the fluffy clouds, way above the trees and the town. Knuckles cautiously let go of Mika's fur with one hand and reached out with one hand to touch a cloud that flew by.

"Wow! It's so beautiful up here!" Knuckles admired. Mika looked back at Knuckles with happy eyes, and she howled into the thin air. Knuckles howled as well, letting go with both hands and raising them in the air.

"Alright, let's go faster!" Knuckles said, a devious smile spreading across his face, and he grabbed Mika's fur and gently tugged to his left, and Mika turned left and flattened her wings against her body, causing them to fall. The air rushed past them as they plummeted down at amazingly fast speeds, towards the town below. Just as they began to come close to crashing into the buildings, Knuckles pulled up on her fur, and Mika stopped falling and flew straight, gliding above the buildings. Knuckles could hear random people gasping and screaming, "What is that?" from down below, and Knuckles huffed and smiled.

"C'mon Mika, kiya!" he exclaimed, pulling up on her fur, and Mika flew upward and out again, gliding around the outside of the town instead, to keep them from being so easily seen. Knuckles hugged onto Mika's neck, before he let go again pumped the air with his fist, hollering, "Wahoo!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Mika landed on the same spot where they began, and she shrunk back down to her tiny size and hopped onto Knuckles' shoulder. Knuckles was panting from the excitement, and he stroked Mika's tiny head gently, telling her "good girl" quietly. He started heading towards home, when he remembered that Johan didn't know about Mika. "I… I guess I'm going to have to tell dad about you. I can't stand having you sleep outside again," Knuckles said, stroking Mika's cheek, as he walked up to his house.

Knuckles walked into the house and called to his dad, and a reply told him that he was in the family room. Knuckles looked to Mika, still perched on his shoulder.

"Well, fingers crossed," he whispered to her, and he walked into the room. "Dad? I-I want to ask you something," he said to the hedgehog sitting on the chair. Johan looked up at his son, and saw the small wolf-like dog sitting on his shoulder, not noticing the little white wings on the dog quite yet.

"Well… who's this little guy?" Johan asked Knuckles, standing up. Knuckles reached up and took Mika off his shoulder, revealing the wings on the dog as he held her in his arms. Johan's face of sympathy turned to shock, and he took a cautious step backward.

"Dad… this is Mika, my dog," Knuckles said quietly.

"Kn-Knuckles… that's no dog," Johan said, pointing a shaky hand at the small dog.

"Dad, please, can I keep her?" Knuckles asked his dad with pleading eyes. "She's really friendly… she's well trained already, and she hardly barks," he said.

"Where did you find it?" Johan asked.

"She actually found me," Knuckles said with a smile, petting Mika's head. Mika seemed to smile, and she rubbed against Knuckles' hand as he stroked her. "I was just out for a walk, and she came up to me. I guess you could say she just bonded with me," Knuckles said, looking to Mika, who looked back at him. She knew he was referring to the ultimate bond that forms between guardian and guide, and she wagged her tail happily. Johan slowly walked up to Knuckles, and cautiously touched Mika's white wings. The wings fluttered under Johan's touch, and the hedgehog stared at the wolf creature in awe.

"I-I…" he stammered. "I don't know what to say to this… I've never seen a creature like this before! And you're sure it's friendly? It won't bite?" he asked, making eye contact with his son to make sure he was being truthful.

"Yes dad, I promise. Mika would never bite me!" Knuckles said. Johan made the face he normally makes when he's thinking something over, and he hummed.

"I don't know…" he started.

"Please dad, please let me keep her! She loves me, and I love her!" Knuckles pleaded to his dad. Johan knew his son was lonely, and he finally decided.

"Oh, alright," he agreed. "You need a good friend," he said. Knuckles smiled a big smile at his dad, and he let Mika down on the floor before he hugged his dad around the shoulders.

"Thank you so much dad!" he said. "I promise you, Mika won't be a burden!" Johan smiled and stroked his son's back.

"You're welcome Knuckles," he said, and once Knuckles let go, Johan knelt down by a very over-excited Mika and stroked her back.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Soldiers paraded through the streets, stopping at houses and demanding that any man over the age of 17 join the imperial army. Fathers and sons from families were pried from their homes, leaving their wives and mothers in tears at the doorsteps, as the parade of soldiers increased with each house they stopped at.

One man in armor made it up to the home of Adriana, Silver, and Sonic, and he knocked on the door. A moment later, Adriana answered the door.

"Good evening ma'am. I'm general Kai-Lee, and I'm collecting young men to be soldiers in the impending war," the general said, removing his helmet in front of the lady. "I've come to take your son, Percy," he said to the purple mother. Adriana felt her heart began to beat faster, and she lowered her ears.

"I-I'm sorry, all of my sons are not old enough. You must me mistaken," she lied, trying to protect her son, and she started to close her door. General Kai-Lee, however, stuck his foot in the door and barged inside, knocking Adriana to the ground with a shriek. Silver and Sonic heard their mom scream, and exclaimed, "Mom, what's wrong?" as they ran into the hallway. The general turned to Sonic and held out an un-rolled scroll with the decree from the emperor.

"Percy the hedgehog, I have direct orders from Korin; anyone over the age of 17 is to aid in the war. You must come with me," he said, and more soldiers poured into their home and took Sonic by the arms.

"SONIC!" Silver cried, reaching for his brother, but the soldiers began to take Sonic away.

"Hey, what are you doing, let go of me!" Sonic exclaimed, fighting against the soldiers. Adriana grabbed onto one shoulder of General Kai-Lee, tears already falling down her cheeks.

"Please don't do this! You can't take him away, he's my son!" she cried and begged.

"I'm sorry, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them," the general replied, as the soldiers took Sonic struggling out of the house. Silver ran to the door, watching as the soldiers brought Sonic out into the street with the other young men and adults.

"Run Sonic, RUN!" Silver cried to his brother, tears burning at his eyes. Sonic looked up at Silver with wide, scared eyes, unsure if he heard his brother right. Adriana stood beside Silver and shouted to her son.

"Run away Sonic, and don't come back!" she shouted, tears falling down her cheeks. Sonic felt tears coming to his own eyes, and he mouthed out "I love you" before he ripped his arms from the solders' grip, and he ran at supersonic speeds down the street and towards the woods. Adriana squeezed her other son's shoulder tight as she watched Sonic run off into the distance, while the soldiers shouted at each other about who let the boy go. Silver could feel his heart tearing in two; at least his brother wasn't captured, but now he can't come back into town, or he'd be captured again. But Silver had a slight suspicion where Sonic had gone.


	4. Chapter 4

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Knuckles and Johan sat on the floor of the living room, playing a game of chess together, with Mika watching next to them. It was Johan's turn, and he hummed in thought, stroking the small beard he had begun growing, as he pondered his next move. Knuckles sat patiently, watching his father's expressions carefully.

"Aha!" Johan exclaimed, and he reached for his piece. "Check!" he said, as he moved his piece in direct line with Knuckles' king. Knuckles only huffed and smiled, however, at his father's intimidating move. He reached for one of his knights and slid it to his father's king, knocking it off the board.

"Checkmate," he said with a grin, looking up at Johan. His father shook his head with a smile upon his face.

"I do not know how you do it, son!" he said, "That's the fifth time this week you've beaten me! You've got some good luck!"

"Heh, luck's got nothing to do with it," Knuckles replied cockily, "I can read you like a book; I know your moves!" Mika stood up with the heightened voices, and she ran up to Knuckles, stepping right over the chess board and knocking over most of the pieces. She came right up to Knuckles and began to lick his face happily.

Johan stood up and cracked his back, before there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it since I'm up," Johan said, and he walked to the door. He reached for the knob, and to his surprise, when he opened the door he found his son Sonic standing there, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"Sonic? Son, what are you doing here?" Johan asked, looking back towards Knuckles when he heard his boy exclaim "No Mika, don't eat the chess pawns!"

When Knuckles heard his father mention Sonic's name, he looked up, forgetting about what he was originally doing. He and his step brother locked eyes, and Knuckles could see the fear and sadness in them. Mika looked up, a chess piece in her mouth and a bead of drool dribbling from her lip, and she made a small "rrr?" sound when she saw Sonic's familiar face.

Sonic looked back to Johan and spoke with an urgent voice. "It's Emperor Karn! He's rounding up anyone 18 or older and forcing them to join the war efforts! They came to our house and tried to take me away, but I ran off," Sonic explained as he tried to regain his breath. "I came to warn you guys!"

"That's horrible!" Knuckles replied, standing up. Mika swallowed the piece in her mouth and followed Knuckles towards the door.

"Why do they need so many men? We haven't had an _actual_ war in over twenty years," Johan asked curiously, looking to Knuckles as he stopped next to him.

"I'm not sure," Sonic replied, "But I think it might have something to do with the border between the hedgehogs and the foxes. I heard one of the guards talking about heading to the Northern Borderline."

"But the foxes are a relatively peaceful population. Why would we be warring with them?" Knuckles piped in.

"Probably for the same reason the Emperor warred against the echidnas; for more power and land," Johan commented. Upon mentioning the echidnas, Knuckles felt a shudder run through him, and Sonic's eyes trailed towards him to give him a reassuring glance. Knuckles had nearly forgotten about his quest, and was simply enjoying time with his father and his guide. Now that he thought about it, maybe this was what he was destined for? The white echidna spirit had told him that he was to keep the peace… maybe this is what she meant? But how was he supposed to prevent a war?

Knuckles was ripped from his thoughts when Johan spoke to him. Knuckles shook his head and looked to his father.

"Huh, what?" he stammered.

"I asked if you were ok," Johan replied, "You were staring off into space." Knuckles nodded in reply.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, and he looked to Sonic. "How far behind you do you think the soldiers are?" he asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Not sure. I left them pretty far in the dust, so they probably didn't even bother to track me," he replied. "Just came to warn you in case if they did find your place."

"So, since you're on the run from the empire, does that mean you can't go home?" Johan asked. The thoughts of home brought tears to Sonic's eyes, as he shook his head.

"No… I can't set foot in town, or I'll be spotted and reported," Sonic replied, and he swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat.

"Well you can stay with us until this all blows over, right?" Knuckles asked, turning to his dad.

"Of course! I'd never deny family!" Johan replied, and he gestured Sonic to come inside. "Now come in, quick, before someone sees," he said. Sonic quickly stepped inside, and Johan quickly checked to see if anyone was watching before he closed the door. Immediately, Mika leapt into Sonic's arms, yapping happily. Sonic laughed as Mika licked his face, and then the dog-wolf leapt from his hands and flew to Knuckles again and sat upon his shoulder.

"Gee Knuckles, your dog sure does like Sonic!" Johan said with a smirk.

"I told you, dad, Mika's super friendly!" Knuckles said with a smile in return.

"_Right, except when she's a giant, ferocious monster dog,"_ Sonic whispered in Knuckles' ear, who chuckled slightly in reply.

"Well dad, Sonic and I are going to go to the bedroom to talk, ok?" Knuckles said. Johan nodded in reply, and the two boys and the dog all ran into the room and closed the door.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Knuckles let out a deep sigh and leaned against the door after he closed it, as Sonic walked up and sat down on the bed.

"So I see your dad let you keep Mika," Sonic commented. Knuckles nodded, not looking at him, and said "Mmmm hmmm" in reply. "And I also see that your dad still has no clue that you're an echidna," Sonic added, as he lied on his back on Knuckles and Johan's bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"I can't tell him," Knuckles quietly replied, as he slid against the door to his butt on the floor. Mika bounded up to him, now that he was down on her level, but Knuckles gently shoved her aside.

"Why not? It's kind of a big deal, I think it'd be important for him to know," Sonic asked, turning his head to look at Knuckles. Knuckles brought his knees up to his chest and he rested his elbows on them.

"I-I can't!" he replied, "It'd break his heart if he knew I've been lying to him all this time, and that I'm not actually a hedgehog like he thinks."

"C'mon Knux, you and I both know that's not the real reason," Sonic said with a bored expression. Knuckles looked up to Sonic, who stared back at him, and he sighed again, resting his chin on his arms.

"And… I think it's also because I don't want to accept the truth…" he admitted.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, rolling around to his stomach and propping himself up with his arms. "You can't just sit around and pretend like nothing happened," he added.

"I mean… I think I'm scared…" Knuckles said quietly, as he buried his chin deeper into his arms. "I'm scared that I'm not going to be able to fulfill my destiny, and I'll let everyone down," he said, his voice muffled slightly with his chin resting in his arms. "What if they have the wrong guy..?" he murmured quieter.

"Well I don't believe that," Sonic replied with a kind smile, which brought Knuckles' gaze back up to his step-brother. "I know you can do it. You've got what it takes!" Sonic continued. "…And then some, if you let me and my brother come along for the ride!" he added with a smirk. Knuckles smiled and huffed slightly, but then his solemn look returned.

"I-I think I'm supposed to somehow prevent this war… I think that's what my destiny is as the peace-keeper," he said. "But I don't even know where to start!" Sonic pushed himself up from the bed and walked up to Knuckles

"Well, here's something for starters," Sonic said, as he placed Mika on Knuckles' lap. Mika's tail wagged happily, and Knuckles stroked her ear and looked up at Sonic. "…How about we use our little shard detector slash holder to find all of these mystical emerald shards you're supposed to have, and figure out your true powers from there," Sonic said with a smile. A small smile began to peek its way onto Knuckles' face, and he nodded.

"Ok," he said confidently, and he stood up, lifting Mika with him. "Let's go get Silver," he said.

The two boys crawled out from the window in the bedroom, and Knuckles lifted Mika out a moment later.

"Ready to go?" Sonic asked, readying himself for another run, but Knuckles grabbed him by the wrist.

"No, wait, I want you to fly with me," he said, looking to Sonic. The blue hedgehog huffed and raised a brow.

"Fly? On what?" he asked.

"On Mika," Knuckles replied with a smile, lifting Mika up to Sonic's face. Mika's tongue touched Sonic's nose, and he made a face at the echidna.

"Uh, Knuckles..? You do realize that's kind of impossible, right?" he asked. Without a word of protest, Knuckles sat Mika on the ground and took a step back. The little dog looked back at Knuckles, who gave a little nod of approval to her. She arched her back, as her wings darkened from white to black, and she began to stretch and grow. Sonic gawked as the dog grew, her body becoming muscular and frightening once again. Once Mika finished, she made a small pleasure growl and shook her mane-like neck fur.

Knuckles came back up to her and scratched at her cheekbone. "Impossible, huh?" he asked with a smirk.

"O-Oh… right… I forgot about that," Sonic replied with lowered ears, and he began nervously scratching at the back of his head. After a moment of Knuckles scratching at Mika's cheek and behind her ears, praising her gently, Sonic spoke up again. "So… how exactly are we supposed to fly on her?" he asked.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

Sonic clung for dear life to Mika's fur as she flew through the sky very quickly, and he screamed at the top of his lungs like he was about to die. Unlike Knuckles, who sat on top of her back quite normally, Sonic was lying on his belly on her haunches as he clung to her fur. "This is not what I had in mind!" he screamed over the rushing of the wind. Knuckles grabbed Sonic's hand and sat him up. The moment he disconnected Sonic's hand from the wolf-dog's fur, the hedgehog grabbed for Knuckles' shoulders, and he wrapped his arms around him extremely tight. Knuckles chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, the first time riding is the scariest, but you get used to it quickly," he said.

"When did you find out you could fly on her?" Sonic asked, his grip loosening on Knuckles' neck.

"A couple of days ago," Knuckles replied. Sonic's mouth gaped, and he stared at Knuckles.

"Wow… You're good," he muttered.

The two boys flew across the skies, until the cityscape began to come in view. "Kyah!" Knuckles exclaimed, and he tugged up on Mika's fur, making her fly higher up.

"Why are we going up?" Sonic asked.

"Because the clouds will hide Mika a little better. I don't want everyone seeing her, or they might grow suspicious," Knuckles replied. The two of them flew into the clouds, and they looked through the haze down at the rooftops below.

"There's my house!" Sonic pointed out, and Knuckles lowered Mika down. They slowly landed Mika on the roof, and Knuckles had her quickly shrink back down so she wouldn't be seen. Sonic headed towards the edge of the roof.

"I'll go get Silver," he said.

"No, wait!" Knuckles called, and he reached forward to stop Sonic. "I'll go, you're not supposed to be seen," he said. Sonic nodded.

"Good point."

Knuckles walked to the edge and looked down. Nobody was walking by at the moment, so he gently lowered himself down as far as he could with his arms and fell to the floor below. He landed on his feet and did not stumble, and he quickly walked up to the door. Sonic and Mika watched from above.

Adriana answered the door, and was surprised to find Knuckles at her doorstep.

"Knuckles? What're you doing here honey?" she asked him.

"Hello," Knuckles replied, "Is Silver home? I'd like to talk to him."

"No, actually, he's not," Adriana replied. "He said something about heading out to find Sonic. I don't know if you're aware, but some soldiers came in a few days ago and tried to recruit Sonic to the army. I told him to leave, so he wouldn't have to join the war and have himself killed," she said, as tears came to her eyes. "I don't really know where he is now," he said, her voice beginning to grow shaky, as she attempted to stop herself from crying.

"I know what happened, ma'am," Knuckles replied. "Please don't cry, Sonic's fine. He's back at my place," he said. Adriana wiped at her eyes and looked at Knuckles with a small smile.

"He is?" she asked quietly. Knuckles nodded with a smile.

"In fact, he's right up here on your roof right now," Knuckles said, gesturing upward. Adriana gasped, and she stepped outside and looked up. Sure enough, Sonic was peeking down over the edge of the roof, and he smiled and waved to his mother.

"Sonic!" Adriana cried, a tear falling down her cheek, "Oh thank God you're safe!" Knuckles came up to her.

"Uh, you might want to keep it quiet though. He's still kinda hiding under wraps," he whispered to her, and she nodded. Adriana quickly blew her son a kiss, before Sonic crawled away from the edge and out of view again, and Adriana looked back down to Knuckles.

"So, why do you need Silver then?" she asked the echidna. Knuckles sighed.

"It's a long story, but we need his help with something. Y-You see… I'm an echidna, not a hedgehog," he admitted. However, Adriana didn't seem all too surprised by this, so Knuckles continued. "…And apparently, I'm not just any echidna, but the guardian." Knuckles paused and pointed to the crescent mark on his chest. "I'm supposed to have all these amazing powers, and I have to channel them to save the world by stopping the hedgehog empire from going to war," he said. "So I need my step-brothers with me… we've sort of promised each other that we'd keep each other safe, and your sons have more power and ability than you think," Knuckles explained. Adriana unexpectedly hugged Knuckles, and she kissed his cheek.

"I always knew you were different… but Johan was the one who knew you were going to do good things for the world," she whispered. "I-I'm so sorry for ever doubting you, little Nagusaka." Knuckles chuckled slightly.

"Just call me Knuckles," he replied. Adriana let go of him and sniffled.

"I believe before Silver left he said something about searching for an _emerald shard_ while he was looking for Sonic. Does any of that have to do with it?" she asked. Knuckles quickly nodded.

"Yes, those are what I'm supposed to find! Each one is supposed to unlock new abilities!" he replied.

"Well, good luck Knuckles, I hope you find Silver ok," Adriana said, hugging Knuckles one last time. "And please keep my sons safe," she whispered to her before she let him go. Knuckles nodded, before he leapt up and grabbed for the side of the roof. He pulled himself up, waved goodbye to the hedgehog woman, and then walked out of view.

"Wait!" she called, "How are you going to get off my roof?" However, she was quickly answered, when a loud growl was heard, and off flew her two boys, on top of a giant, winged black beast. Adriana stared in awe and slowly waved at the two waving boys, as they flew up and out of sight, into the clouds.

"Be safe," Adriana whispered under her breath, as she looked up at the sky.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

"Your mom said that Silver was headed out to find you," Knuckles said to Sonic as they flew high above the trees.

"Then that means he's all alone, out there in the cold, dark woods!" Sonic replied, worry prominent in his voice. "We've gotta find him, and fast! That's my baby brother we're talking about!" Knuckles nodded and pulled downward on Mika's fur, bringing her lower down. She was just barely missing the treetops now, and Sonic looked over the side, calling Silver's name and searching for any trace of grey. After a few minutes of calling, Sonic's ear pricked up, when he heard a sound. It sounded kind of like that whistle Knuckles had made for Silver.

"I-I hear something!" Sonic called, "Land Mika, I think we found him!" Knuckles called to Mika, and the dog then spread out her wings and slowly hovered down to the ground. Sonic hopped off immediately and called for Silver again. A moment later, a faint reply was heard. Sonic ran in the direction of the voice, and quickly found himself running straight into the silvery-grey hedgehog. Both of them tumbled to the ground, and once they stopped rolling, Sonic looked up to find Silver on top of him, completely unscathed and safe, and Sonic smiled.

"Silv! It's you! You're ok!" he cried, and he hugged his brother tight. Silver chuckled and hugged him right back.

"Yeah I'm safe, what'd you think?" he asked in reply, as he got off his brother. The two stood back up, just as Knuckles and a now tiny Mika caught up with them.

"Oh, good, you found Silver!" he said, breathing heavily from running.

"Knuckles!" Silver cried, and he quickly turned around. "Take a look at what I found!" he exclaimed, and he revealed something he held in his fist. It was a small, long and slender, glowing green piece of rock, the size of Silver's fist, and it pulsated brighter upon exposure to Knuckles. It was another emerald shard! Knuckles gasped and reached for it.

"Wow! Nice work Silver!" he exclaimed, as he grabbed it from the hedgehog's hand. The moment his flesh came in contact with the gem, Knuckles felt a strange new strength come over him, and the emerald began to glow.

"What's happening?" Sonic whispered to Silver, as the two hedgehog boys only watched in awe.

"I think he's gaining a power or something," Silver whispered back, "He did say he'd gain new abilities with each shard found, right?" Sonic nodded in response, as they watched what happened.

Knuckles' eyes began to glow wildly once again, just like when he was at the stone temple, and his guardian mark also glowed bright. Knuckles' spines began to blow in the mysterious wind that was suddenly appearing, as the shard's glow engulfed Knuckles' entire form. The echidna looked down at himself for a moment, before looking back to his step brothers and speaking.

"Wh-What's happening to me?" he questioned. The two hedgehogs were taken aback at the echidna's new voice; it sounded as though he, along with hundreds of other voices, were all speaking at once!

However, as suddenly as it began, the glowing faded quickly away, and Knuckles stumbled on his feet and placed a hand at his head. "Whoa…" he muttered. His voice was back to normal now. Sonic and Silver went to steady their weakened brother.

"What was that all about?" Silver asked Knuckles, once the echidna's strength returned.

"Maybe you got a new super power!" Sonic replied excitedly. Knuckles shrugged.

"I… I have no idea," he replied. "I-I don't feel any more powerful… in fact, I don't feel any different…"

"Well, maybe since this is just the second shard, you don't get a very big upgrade?" Sonic suggested. His eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, wouldn't it be so cool if the next one you found gave you teleportation powers? That'd be awesome!" the blue hedgehog exclaimed. Knuckles huffed.

"I don't think I'm going to get teleportation powers," he replied, putting his head down to hide the smile creeping onto his face. Mika came up to Knuckles and rested her head on his foot, and Knuckles knelt down by her. "Here you go girl," he said, holding the emerald shard out to the tiny dog-wolf. Mika quickly snatched the emerald shard from Knuckles and swallowed it with a quick gulp. Her emerald green eyes glowed bright for a few seconds before it died down, and she then yapped happily.

The three boys flew back to Knuckles' home, after showing Silver that they could fly on Mika. Knuckles gave Sonic the chance to steer Mika for awhile, while he sat in back with Silver.

"So where did you find the shard?" Knuckles asked him.

"It was sitting in a tree. I saw it as I was looking for you, Sonic," Silver replied. Knuckles nodded, looking down at Mika's blowing fur, before he looked to the hedgehog again.

"I see you used the whistle I made you to call for us," he pointed out with a slight smile.

"Yeah, it was really helpful," Silver said. Knuckles' smile grew.

"I'm glad you like it," he said.

"How come you didn't make yourself one?" Sonic asked, looking back at his brothers. Knuckles shrugged.

"I don't know… I just didn't think I needed one," he said. "Not much happens out in the middle of nowhere where we live."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 

The three soon arrived home, and after shrinking Mika back down to her small size, the three crawled back into the window that Knuckles and Sonic left from. They were back in Knuckles and Johan's room, and the three relaxed on the bed for awhile to talk. It was a little while later, when Knuckles sat up, realizing he hadn't heard anything from his father in awhile.

Suddenly, a loud crash, followed by a scream, was heard from outside the room, catching Sonic, Silver, and Knuckles by surprise. The sounds that followed were similar thumps and loud grunts, and then a voice that called for Knuckles in fear. Knuckles recognized the voice, and he gasped.

"Dad!" he cried, and he ran for the door. Sonic and Silver aimed to follow him, but Knuckles stopped them.

"No, you stay here, it might be dangerous! And if it's the soldiers, they'll try to take you back Sonic," the echidna said in a commanding voice, and he opened the door and slammed it behind him, running into the hall and towards the living room.

"Dad?" Knuckles cried, as he rushed into the open room. He found two soldiers dragging Johan by the arms towards the open front door. Johan struggled and fought against the two hedgehogs' grips, but he could not compete against the brute strength of these two trained soldiers. "Dad!" Knuckles screamed again, and he rushed forward. He came up to the men, shouting "Stop!" "Please, don't take my father, he's all that I have!" Knuckles cried, grabbing onto one of the hedgehog's shoulders. In response, a couple more soldiers stormed in and grabbed Knuckles also by his shoulders. Knuckles shouted and fought against their grips, but the men pushed him close to the ground, holding his arms behind his back in a threat to break both his arms.

"How old are you son?" one soldier asked, after pausing for a moment to do a double take at the boy.

"Fourteen!" Johan cried, not allowing Knuckles to speak, "Please, the boy is only fourteen! Don't take him away, he has a life to live, take me instead!" he pleaded. Knuckles shook his head no abruptly, tears building in his eyes as he looked to his father. The soldiers gave curious looks to the echidna, and then the strongest of the two let go of Johan and approached Knuckles. He crouched down by Knuckles' face, and Knuckles turned his head to glare at the man, sweat falling down his brow.

"You look much older than fourteen, boy!" he scowled, glaring down at the echidna with squinting eyes.

"Please trust me sir, he's not a year over, I assure you!" Johan continued to plead.

"Shut up old man, I'm talking to the boy, not you!" the soldier growled, and he looked back to Knuckles. "It isn't smart to fool the highest order of government, boy. Now tell me, how old are you really?" he asked, glaring the boy down.

"No, please, don't do this to my son; he's too young for war!" Johan exclaimed, but the guard holding him shouted "Shut up!" and bashed him in the side of the head with his fist, abruptly cutting the man off. Knuckles breathed heavily, and his eyes flitted towards his father, who shook off the dizziness of his injury and looked back at his son with wide, worried eyes.

"I'm nineteen years old, sir, and eager to help you fight in this war," Knuckles lied, putting his head down.

"NO!" Johan screamed, and he fought once again against the soldier's grip. "Please don't take my boy, PLEASE!" Johan cried, but the men did not listen. The soldier holding Knuckles' arms behind his back lifted Knuckles back up to his feet, and he led Knuckles out the door, followed by his father.

"Wait!" Knuckles cried, "Please, leave my father here! He isn't going to be of as much use as I am, he is older and more likely to die during battle!" he pleaded. But the soldiers did not listen to his plea, and they dragged both father and son outside. There was a long parade of other young and old hedgehog men herded further down the hill, with other soldiers atop horses that stood guard of the men, and the soldiers led Knuckles and his father straight towards them.

Knuckles screamed in protest as the men led them down the hill, and he tugged and struggled to free his hands. Out of a last resort, Knuckles thought back to Mika. He yanked one hand free and raised it swiftly to his lips, and he whistled a loud and sharp call.

"MIKA!" he called at the top of his lungs. The loud shout echoed across the hills, as the ground suddenly began to shake and rumble. The soldiers grew silent while the captive men began to panic, as the ground below their feet shuddered and rumbled and a deafening roar ripped through the sky. And suddenly, from one corner of their home, a giant black beast tore through the side of the wall and stood before all the hedgehogs, glaring them down with beady red eyes, as the walls around it crumbled and dust billowed. This giant creature, which was Mika in her attack form, roared again and ran towards the men at full speed. The gathered men all fearfully ran in opposite directions, but the soldiers remained to fight. The man holding Knuckles' arms let go of his hands, and Knuckles took a step towards the giant wolf beast that ran towards them, her mouth frothing.

"Uh… Knuckles?" Johan exclaimed fearfully.

"It's alright dad, she's just protecting me," Knuckles assured. "… She's my guide!" he called as he ran forward.

One soldier exclaimed "Stop him!" as Knuckles ran up to Mika, whooping for her. The wolf dog dipped her head down but continued to run, and as the two approached, Knuckles leapt upward and jumped onto Mika's nose. She tipped her head back up, flinging Knuckles onto her back. Knuckles was surprised to find two hedgehogs perched on Mika's back as well when he landed on her haunches.

"Sonic? Silver?" Knuckles exclaimed in surprise.

"Glad to see you still needed us, guardian!" Sonic spoke over Mika's loud growls, and he smirked. Knuckles didn't have time to further react, before Mika leapt high into the air, and Knuckles jolted and turned swiftly around to face the front. He quickly found that Mika was taking off into the skies, and he gasped. Knuckles reached for her neck fur and tugged sharply.

"No, Mika, you forgot dad! Stop!" he cried, but the dog did not change her course. Mika flew just above the heads of the soldiers, making them all gasp and duck in fear of the dog's claws catching their heads.

"What on earth is that?" one soldier gawked, as he watched the winged wolf dog swoop into the air. The wolf continued to fly on, up and up until she was above the trees.

"NO! DAD! NOOO!" Knuckles' voice cried, fading as the wolf flew further and further away. Johan watched as his three boys flew away on the great black beast.

"Be safe boys," he muttered under his breath, as a tear came to his eyes. The dog-wolf was now only a black dot in the horizon, and that soon disappeared as well. The soldiers quickly recollected themselves and led Johan along his way, while the others went to gather the fleeing men. Meanwhile, one soldier approached the general, removing his hat as he stopped in front of the burly hedgehog man.

"Sir? What do you s'pose that was?" he asked the general. The hedgehog squinted his eyes at the soldier, but then looked away.

"I reckon, but I'm not sure… that beast looked like a mythical echidnean creature that I've never seen before. Unless I'm wrong, and I'm never wrong… that red-furred lad was the guardian, the last echidna," he growled. "And Emperor Karn is not going to be happy to hear about this…"


End file.
